Outlet profile

KFF Health News

U.S. center-left (nonprofit health-policy newsroom)

Owned byAn editorially independent program of KFF (the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation), a nonprofit health policy research and communications organization. It is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Health Plan.

FundingCore operations are part of KFF's general operating budget, which comes mainly from returns on KFF's endowment. KFF also takes grants from foundations and other partners for specific projects. Its stories are syndicated free to many news partners, so it does not rely on ads or subscriptions.

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The outlet launched in 2009 as Kaiser Health News, funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation, to cover health policy and the 2010 health care law debate. KFF has said the newsroom is editorially independent of the foundation's own polling and policy research. The foundation was created from the Kaiser Permanente fortune but has long been legally and operationally separate from that health system. In 2023 the outlet was renamed KFF Health News so it would not be confused with Kaiser Permanente. Elisabeth Rosenthal, a physician and former New York Times reporter, is editor-in-chief. It publishes a daily Morning Briefing that summarizes health news from other outlets. It also co-publishes content with outlets such as NPR, The Washington Post and local papers. Its investigative work, including series on medical billing and on the health care system, has won major journalism awards. Critics on the right sometimes argue that its framing leans toward expanding government coverage and against Republican health policy, while supporters point to its sourcing and corrections practices. In 2026 its coverage has included reporting on Medicaid cuts under the 2025 budget law, ACA plan cancellations, and statements by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-10-17; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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